5 stars out of 5
Every single character is flawed - most of them seriously so. And that's a huge part of the appeal, especially as they interact with each other and layers of their backgrounds and personalities are peeled back. Jessica Sommers, you see, is experiencing unadulterated bliss with her husband of just one year, art dealer James (oh wait, perhaps unadulterated isn't the best choice of words; she was married to another man - Wayne - when she started an affair with James, who was married at the time). Jessica and Wayne are the parents of teenage Owen, who has serious health issues; James's ex, Haley, is best described as a bitter, scorned royal witch with a capital B.
At the outset, James's friend Reid Warwick convinces James to help him sell a set of extremely valuable Jackson Pollock sketches; "sketch" may be the operative word here, since the provenance sounds more than a little shaky. But along comes a beautiful female art dealer who's hot to trot, so the deal is off and running, with both James and Reid hoping for a big payday. Then, tragedy strikes in a couple of ways, changing Jessica's family dynamic and outlook for the future as well as that of her son and ex-husband.
And herein is the problem in reviewing this book: There's no way to describe what happens from that point on without revealing too much. Suffice it to say it involves revenge, murder, suspense and a whole lot more - all of which kept me wanting to read nonstop from beginning to end (no, not possible, but know that I gave it my all). Thanks to Amazon First Reads for the chance to take it on a test drive before the official launch. It passed with flying colors!
The Perfect Marriage by Adam Mitzner (Thomas & Mercer, April 2021); 292 pp.
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